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Review held and pending content

Moderation & safety · 4 min read

Some posts and comments wait for a moderator before members can see them. An auto-moderation rule or AI moderation held them, or the space requires post approval. This article shows where held content waits, how to approve or reject it, and what the author sees in the meantime.

Who can do this: Owners, admins, and moderators in the admin console. Space admins and space moderators in their space's review queue. · Where: Web (admin console and space settings) and the app (space review queue). · Plan: Requiring approval for every post across the community depends on your platform plan.

Where held content waits for review

Why the content is waiting Where to review it
An auto-moderation rule set to Flag for Review, or AI moderation Admin → Moderation → Pending Content
The space or community requires post approval Admin → Content → Posts, Pending tab, and the space's review queue
A question or answer in a Q&A space is pending Admin → Content → Q&A

Pending Content is the only place that shows held comments. Top-level posts held by a rule also show up in the other places, and approving or rejecting a post in one place updates the others.

On the admin dashboard, owners and admins see separate Pending Actions counts for Pending Content Review, Pending Q&A Review, and Held by Auto-Moderation. Each count opens its own list, so the numbers don't add up to one queue.

Approve or reject content in Pending Content

  1. Go to Admin → Moderation → Pending Content. It opens on the Pending tab. The Approved, Rejected, and All tabs show earlier decisions.
  2. Check each item: the Content (click Open to see it in place), the Author, and Flagged for, which shows whether AI or a Rule held it and why.
  3. Click Approve to publish the content. Click Reject and confirm to remove it; the author loses access to it.
  4. To handle several items at once, select them and click Approve or Reject in the bar that appears, then confirm.

Some items stay visible to members while they wait, such as content the AI flagged but didn't block. Others are hidden until you decide, such as content a rule held or the AI blocked. Approving publishes the content and can't be undone from this page.

Review pending posts in a space's review queue

Space admins and space moderators review pending posts and reports for their own space:

  • Web: open the space, click Manage, then Review queue. In Article, Gallery, Radio, and Q&A spaces it's called Article review, Media review, Episode review, or Question review. The Pending tab shows each post's reason (Auto-flagged keyword, Requires approval, or Auto-flagged) with Approve, Reject, and Open actions.
  • App: open the space's menu, tap Manage space, then the review queue, and use the Posts tab. When you reject a post in the app, you must give the author a reason.

A space's review queue shows top-level posts only, and Chat spaces don't have one. Held comments appear only in Pending Content, which space moderators can't open.

What the author sees while content is held

  • Right after posting, a message such as "Post submitted — it will be visible once a moderator approves it."
  • A notification that their post or comment is waiting for a moderator to review it. It never names the rule that held the content.
  • Content that's hidden while held doesn't appear in feeds or threads, even for the author.
  • Under Settings → Content review (in the app, Member center → Content review status), the author can see their content that's Awaiting review and content that was Removed, with the reason when one was given.

Turn post approval on or off

  • For one space: a space admin opens the space, clicks Manage → Moderation rules, and turns on Require post approval. Every new post then waits in the review queue.
  • For the whole community: owners and admins go to Admin → Settings → Content Safety and turn on Require Post Approval. When this setting and a space's setting differ, the stricter one wins.

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